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Central or Aboriginal health workers have worked alongside remote area nurses in central Australia since the mid 1970s. The rationale for the employment of Aboriginal health workers has varied over this twenty-five year period according to the politics of four interest groups: the State; Aboriginal groups; the medical lobby; and Aboriginal health workers themselves. These interest groups have variously positioned Aboriginal health workers as cultural brokers, primary medical workers, community developers and, more recently, professionals in shared care. This paper explores these four interest groups focusing firstly on the approach taken to the provision of English literacy by each group, and secondly, the impact of this on working relationships between Aboriginal health workers and remote area nurses. (Abstract supplied). Show less

The 'Paramedic education: developing depth through networks and evidence-based project' was a collaboration between the nine universities that had undergraduate paramedic programs in 2006 and the Australian College of Ambulance Professionals (ACAP). The primary aims of the project were three-fold: To investigate the following two questions: What can be learnt from international pre-hospital service providers, professional associations, universities and the research literature that might contribute to meeting the future educational needs of paramedic graduates in Australia? What international and national models of collaboration and working relationships between ambulance service providers, professional associations and universities offer best practice examples for fostering an ideal working relationship for the education of future paramedics? The third aim was to formally establish a paramedic academic network to foster the exchange of educational ideas, and to further collaborative educational practice within the tertiary sector.

Excerpts from publication. Show less

Improvements in environmental health have had the most significant impact on health status. In Australia, life expectancy has significantly increased through provision of vaccination, safe food and drinking water, appropriate sewage disposal and other environmental health measures. Yet the profession that is instrumental in delivering environmental health services at the local community level is overlooked. Rarely featuring in mainstream media, the successes of Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) are invisible to the general public. As a consequence, students entering university are unaware of the profession and its significant role in society. This has resulted in there being too few EHOs to meet the current regulatory requirements, much less deal with the emerging environmental health issues arising as a consequence of changing global conditions including climate change. To futureproof Australian society and public health this workforce issue, and the associated oversight of environmental health must be addressed now.

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This study reports on an Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) funded project aimed at providing an evidence-based methodology for staffing and skills mix in Residential Aged Care. The report provides stakeholders with evidence of the need for a methodology that informs staffing allocation and skills mix, linked to a range of resident profile/types and the skill levels of staff. The findings support the need for action to improve staffing levels and skills mix in Residential Aged Care, following the application and evaluation of the staffing methodology in this report.

The key findings of the study are: (1) Staffing levels in Residential Aged Care are currently not sufficient to ensure safe, quality aged care; (2) Current skills mix does not address the increasing complexity and acuity of residents in Residential Aged Care and leads to missed care; (3) An evidenced-based staffing methodology is needed; and (4) The principles underpinning the methodology tested in this study are appropriate for Residential Aged Care.

Edited excerpts from publication. Show less